3 out of 4 stars
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“You can’t wish for your life to be different while fearing change.” – Dell
Rescuing Awen by David Alan Morrison is a great read for ages 10 and above. It is a scifi/fantasy book that preteens and adults can enjoy reading equally. Dell is close to turning 16 years old and mostly lives on his own. His mom is almost always absent, busy working. His father left them without any warning some time before the book begins. Dell’s beloved grandfather died 6 months before the story begins. After the turmoil of his grandfather’s death, Dell has started getting into a routine and does not expect much else to happen. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good story if it stayed that way. In less than a day his whole life is changed once again and through a series of events he is swept off to the planet Awen. While on Awen, he finds something worth fighting for and accepts his responsibilities, no matter the cost. He also uses awesome nature powers to get the job done!
There are two themes from the book that really stick out to me. The first one is living with nature. This is the main theme of the book. Awen is a planet inhabited by many different beings, but none of them truly care about taking care of the planet. This has led to a lot of pollution and trash piling up. The planet is suffering from the damage its inhabitants are doing to it. The big message the reader gets from Dell’s interaction with Awen is that one can live with and off of nature without damaging it. This is an important message for everyone right now with how we are treating Earth. As Dell says in Rescuing Awen, it might be too late for Earth, but we should still try.
The second theme that stayed with me is smaller and in less of the book, but it’s still important. This is the theme of embracing responsibility. By the way other characters describe Dell, it seems that he was not one to take risks and make difficult decisions in the past. However, once he gets his mission, he does everything he can to accomplish his goal. Even if it means losing new friends and putting himself in danger, he accepts his new responsibility and goes with it. I can see this as a good message on a smaller scale for people in everyday life. If there is something wrong and you want to change it, do what you can to change it. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Every small action helps.
Rescuing Awen does not have many characters to follow, which is a good thing since it’s only 180 pages. The main character is Dell. Dell is a mature 15-year old. He’s very independent, probably due to his living situation at home. However, he still has his immature moments, which is natural for someone his age. This is very refreshing writing. I found Dell to be likable and realistic. There are several other reoccurring characters that are not human. The writer gives many of the aliens poor English grammar when they speak. It’s usually different for each type of alien. One particular alien actually has excellent English grammar. I found this to be an interesting writing choice since it’s not done often. It’s really well done and the dialogue is still easy to read and comprehend. All of the characters are very different and unique and the character designs are really well done. My favorite interactions were between Squirrel and Dell. Those two are great together.
There is some very minor profanity. There is worse language in books like Harry Potter. Also, some minor insults are used, like “idiot” and “moron”. There is death and violence, but it is not graphic and is treated respectfully. I rate this book a 3 out of 4. There was nothing content-wise that I did not enjoy. The issues I found were mostly in editing. When the heavy action scenes occur, it’s a little unclear what is happening. Better and more description would make it clearer. It appears that sections of dialogue are missing. The transitions between some scenes can be awkward, but it may be due to missing content. Also, sometimes pieces of dialogue look like they are attributed to the wrong character. There is an Illustrator listed, Karen Axmaker, but the copy of the book I received does not have any illustrations. If these lack of clear description and content-missing issues and are taken care of, I believe this book would get a 4. Also, I would love to see what the illustrations look like.
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Rescuing Awen
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